Madarao Now!

Wednesday 5th January 2011, 8:11am

Weather conditions:

Fine weather with great visability.

New snowfall:

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Snow depth:

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Still no new snow to report at Madarao. The powder has been replaced with some savage man-eating moguls that will thrill the advanced skiers and send chills down the spines of the snowboarders. So for the snow boarders I have only two words of advice- big burger! The restaurant at Madarao serves the biggest burger in Japan, maybe, which even taking the horrendously high calorie count into account, is a far safer bet than the bump runs.

The weather looks like being fine all day again, so it will be a good day to skate around and enjoy the view of the mountains. Today twelve of the fifteen lifts, the kids park and the snowboard park will be open.

Shiga Kogen Now!

Wednesday 5th January 2011, 8:15am

Weather conditions:

Clear

New snowfall:

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Snow depth:

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We did get a bit of a sprinkling yesterday but that's about it. This morning there are no clouds to be seen and we are enjoying another clear and sunny morning in Shiga Kogen. Very cold still, minue 12 degrees again.

It's really not snowing much at all is it?

But, but, we are hopeful that tonight we will see some decent snowfall, so hold on a bit longer and I hope to bring you news of that tomorrow morning.

In the meantime, fine weather - but cold - so a fine day to be out on the mountain.

Zao Now!

Just a bit of a cloudy start again today after more of that yesterday. The trees are frosted but there hasn't been much snowfall to report.

Conditions will likely continue cloudy during the day but we should be seeing snowfall by the end of the day and perhaps some heavy snow overnight into tomorrow. After that, a good chance of snow showers on and off pretty much into the weekend.

It's not quite as cold this morning but we can perhaps expect it to get colder as the day progresses. Good snow conditions out there, but we will always welcome more. Read more ...

Minakami Now!

Wednesday 5th January 2011, 8:48am

Weather conditions:

Scattered cloud

New snowfall:

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Snow depth:

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Light snow fell throughout the day yesterday but only amounted to about 5cm. The sun is out again this morning but the clouds are expected to start rolling over from midday as a new cold front engulfs Central Japan. This should bring at least 20cm of new snow over Thursday and Friday.

The weekend should bring some more light snow down to the valley level with the next decent snow fall expected from Monday. Read more ...

Niseko Now!

Wednesday 5th January 2011, 9:29am

Weather conditions:

mostly cloudy with light snow flurries

New snowfall:

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Snow depth:

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Snow continued through much of yesterday up to the early evening. It then mostly fined up overnight but we got up to another 10cm snowfall since last report. The quality of the snow that's been falling is excellent and although not super deep it is super light and plenty of fun. Gate 1 accessing Annupuri bowl is opening today so get over early for some fresh tracks. Snow is expected to move in later today and continue for at least the next week so good times ahead!

Current Official Snow Depths:

Grand Hirafu:Top - 190Bottom - 80

Niseko Village:Top - 130Bottom - 90

Annupuri:Top - 155Bottom - 100

Avalanche Information:

Mountain base 6am: -5℃, 10cm of crystal snow and no developments of snowdrifts. Coastal data: SE4m/s at Benkei cape, E4m/s, 1007hPa and 0.7m waves at Kamui cape. Predicted wind at the peak at noon: W10m/s. No notable development of new snowdrifts/cornices can be observed in the Niseko range and the avalanche hazard is relatively low below 1000m elevation. Avalanches are most likely to occur under strong wind and heavy snowfall conditions. Drastically developed snowdrifts are extremely unstable. Skiing stimulation or collapsing cornices can easily trigger a slab avalanche. A slope that was safe yesterday is not necessarily safe today. The mountain conditions are ever changing. Gate 1 (L-ji) and gate 6 (Moiwa) is schedule to open at 9am and 10am. However, the snow is still insufficient and bushes are yet to be buried. Remain in control and ride carefully. The snow in the trees should in a good condition. Attention to those who entered the Backbowl from Goshiki onsen yesterday. Should you keep traversing the way you did, you will most probably cause an accident sooner or later. Traversing a leeward steep slope is like trying to deliberately cause a slide. If you like riding powder, then you ought to know the basics. Have a nice day.

Naeba Now!

Today is sunny with a few clouds in the sky. However, it is expected to snow lightly during the night time.

Visibility is very good, with winds of only 10km. The temperature is expected to hit -6 with a windchill of -10 degrees in the afternoon. The windchill is then expected to drop to around -11 by the end of the day.

The lifts in Naeba are all operating. In Kagura, all but the Kagura #5 Romance Lift,which is expected to start operation on the 26th of Feburary, are in operation right now.

In regards to the runs at Naeba, the Men's Slalom bahn and the area that is to the lower east of Hiuchi #1 slope are closed.

At Kagura, the Downhill Course in the Mitsumata Area, the Forestry Expert Course, and the Shirakaba and Intermediate Course in the Tashiro Area are all still closed.

Hakuba Now!

Wednesday 5th January 2011, 11:49am

Weather conditions:

Overcast with very light snow

New snowfall:

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Snow depth:

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Beautiful sunset to finish off yesterday and today started off sunny in the East with clouds brooding over the mountains. Snow has been on the forecast but hasn't begun and we could all do with a fresh hit. Snow conditions in the backcountry are nice provided you are off sun affected slopes but there still has not been a lot of snow and so as well as the usual precautions re snowpack stability assessment be careful of rocks, bushes etc underfoot and also holes where areas have not filled in. Skifield runs are decent top to bottom though you can see brown parts poking through on lower runs.

Forecast is still for snow today with the most fall happening early in the AM. We are getting a light flutter at the moment but nothing to get excited about just yet.

Base depth has not really changed in the last few days and no new snow to report.

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Official snow depths and operations @ Wednesday 5th January AM:

Hakuba Goryu: Night time operations from 6pm until 9:30pm. The Kids Area 'Family Land' in the Iimori area is open.Alps daira - 205cm;Toomi - 95cm;Iimori - 75cm

Tsugaike Kogen:The Karamatsu nighta operations are now open and the Jib Park is now partly open. Snow depth - 210cmMaruyama area - 75cm Champion - 90cm

Hakuba Iwatake:All of the Iwatake resort is now open.Upper - 95cmLower - 60cm

Hakuba Cortina:All of the Cortina resort is also now open.Upper - 180cmLower - 100cm

Hakuba Sanosaka: All lifts at Sanosaka are now operating.70cm Read more ...

Furano Now!

Wednesday 5th January 2011, 12:36pm

Weather conditions:

Snowing

New snowfall:

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Snow depth:

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The morning started off with a very light rate of snowfall. Around mid morning this progressively became heavier but hasn't resulted in a lot of accumulation on the ground. There has been 5cm of fresh snow since the last report. Temperatures today are quite cold so it may be best to go for the Gondola or Ropeway to shelter from the coldness on the way up the mountain.

Early morning snow condition had a frosty feel to it, no doubt from the warm temperatures that were hovering around zero and sunshine from yesterday. Parts of Kitanomine are still a bit iffy with gravel coming through the snow pack. Pick of the day would be the Furano Zone where there seems to be a deeper base depth. Read more ...